Procurement Teams are Leading in the Asia-Pacific – and Here’s Why
For many organisations, the COVID-19 pandemic has been a time to survive. But for procurement and supply chain teams, especially in Asia Pacific, it has provided an opportunity to make their mark.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been felt in every corner of the world, with individuals and organisations struggling to cope with mounting pressures as an ongoing result. Even as vaccines are rolled out and restrictions eased, it is likely to be a while before any sense of normality returns.
Nowhere felt the impact of the pandemic from the very beginning more than in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region. Stringent lockdowns were enforced, and, for many, these have only just been fully lifted over a year on. With travel bans and severe restrictions on the import of goods in place, 2020 was a perfect storm for organisations and their complex global supply chains.
And yet, APAC-based organisations found that their procurement and supply chain teams were more than up for – and capable of meeting – this unforeseen challenge. The speed of their response to key issues helped mitigate risks, improve resilience, and navigate the colossal task of getting supply chains back on track.
So what is it about these organisations’ responses to the pandemic that has set them apart from the rest of the world? And what can the rest of the world learn from them to consolidate trust with the C-Suite in their organisation? A new report from Procurious and Coupa provides just this information.
The silver lining: growing trust
“Procurement … has more credit and more attention from executives than it has ever had.”
Michael Van Keulen, CPO of Coupa
Coupa and Procurious surveyed more than 500 procurement and supply chain professionals globally to understand their organisation’s pandemic response, future priorities and how procurement’s role was changing. The results were very encouraging for procurement and supply chain, nowhere more so than in APAC.
The key highlight for global procurement teams was a clear acceleration of procurement’s strategic growth and increased attention at C-suite level. Globally, 62% of respondents saw trust with the C-suite increase because of their response to the pandemic. Notably, in APAC this figure was even higher at 71%.
In addition to this, results suggested that procurement’s role and growth were linked to a greater understanding of their operations by key stakeholders. Only 17% of APAC respondents said that their procurement function was still viewed as tactical, the second lowest regional figure. Together, these figures suggest that not only is there a better understanding of how procurement can deliver a real competitive advantage, but also that the top functions in APAC were already doing this, resulting in greater trust at executive level.
And as good as these results are, there is still plenty of room for improvement too.
Uncertainty and digitisation
“We need to look beyond pandemic-driven changes and recognise that digital transformation is essential to long-term growth and resilience.”
Stuart O’Neill, Managing Director APAC at Coupa
Given global events in the past eighteen months, it is no surprise that economic growth has been slower than anticipated, even in powerhouse economies like China. However, as the global economic recovery gathers pace, it provides procurement with an opportunity to lead once again, this time helping their organisations grow and expand.
For APAC-based organisations, cost control is still the number one priority and a key area where APAC procurement leaders can earn even greater executive trust. To build this trust further, procurement will simultaneously need to strengthen its foundations and build to its future – delivering savings and mitigating risks while undergoing a true digital transformation.
The move to true digitisation, enabling any task to be carried out fully and efficiently anywhere in the world, is a huge task. Digitisation will play a major role in increasing procurement’s speed and agility, something that Coupa underlines as critical for success. It will also enable procurement to better mitigate risk in key areas such as spend visibility, an area in which 82% of organisations in APAC currently have significant gaps.
Invest and evolve
“The businesses that remain agile will weather the current uncertainty more effectively and come out on the other side ahead of the competition.”
‘Procurement’s Time to Lead’ report
The digitisation and evolution of procurement will hinge on how much organisations are willing to invest. This is one facet of business where APAC is streets ahead of other regions, with 91% of survey respondents reporting significant investment in helping procurement lead. Not only are these organisations investing in technology, data, and analytics, but they are actively investing in the future of their existing procurement talent.
Consider this – would you rather your procurement team was focused on getting transactional tasks correct, or mitigating emerging risks like the Suez Canal blockage, or human rights issues in the supply chain? Evaluation of, and investment in, the key trio of people, process, and technology will help procurement to manage the uncertainty and risk, while accelerating growth.
Every organisation can learn from its APAC counterparts in this way. They are investing in the key areas and allowing their procurement teams to learn new skills and focus on truly strategic initiatives. In turn, this makes organisations more agile and better placed to take advantage of growth opportunities.
Procurement must grasp this opportunity, support and engagement with both hands and, at this time of recovery, make its mark on a global scale, together.
Do you feel like you have a lot to learn from APAC procurement teams? Do you have the desire and will to follow in their footsteps and lead from the front? Find out all the key information to build trust with your C-Suite and leap ahead by downloading Coupa’s ‘Procurement’s Time to Lead’ report today.
